10 Horror Movies Designed to Terrify You | Alien, Halloween, Nosferatu & More

Who actually invented the Frankenstein laboratory we all recognize? Mary Shelley gave Victor Frankenstein a workspace—but Hollywood gave us the stone walls, operating table, massive electrical machines, lightning and strange scientific equipment that became synonymous with Frankenstein. Kim Wannop traces 95 years of Frankenstein production design, beginning with James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931), moving through Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974), Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025), and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! (2026). Discover why Young Frankenstein used original laboratory equipment created for the 1931 film, how Oscar-winning Production Designer Tamara Deverell and Set Decorator Shane Vieau transformed Victor Frankenstein’s laboratory into a monumental water tower, and how each generation of filmmakers has reinvented the same visual idea. A deep dive into Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro, production design, set decoration, horror movie sets, Young Frankenstein, classic Universal horror and the design history behind one of cinema’s most recognizable environments.

How do you design a horror movie set to actually make an audience uncomfortable? Production Designer Nick Bassett joins Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop to go behind the scenes of Insidious: Out of the Further, the latest chapter in the Insidious horror franchise. Nick reveals how the production design team created the film’s terrifying practical environments—from the enormous pillow-fort maze to Gemma’s family home, the dentist office and the tattoo parlor built partially in reverse for an elaborate mirror sequence. They break down how architecture can create suspense, why hallways and rooms are sometimes intentionally altered for horror blocking, how the same house was transformed between the 1990s and the present day, and how practical sets, in-camera effects and visual effects worked together to expand The Further. Nick also talks about working with Set Decorator Maddie Worthington, sourcing American-looking furniture while shooting in Melbourne, designing believable character history through set decoration, the pressure of an extremely short prep schedule, and why some of the most important production design choices are the details audiences may never consciously notice. Bassett’s credits include Evil Dead Rise, Sweet Tooth, Ash vs Evil Dead, Fear Street: Prom Queen, Avatar and Guns Akimbo. If you love Insidious, horror movie sets, production design, set decoration, practical effects, filmmaking and behind-the-scenes movie stories, this episode is for you. Watch the full video interview on the Decorating Pages Podcast YouTube channel for Nick’s drawings, set photographs and behind-the-scenes images.

Stanley Kubrick’s films are known for their unmistakable visual style — but who actually designed the sets? Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop examines the production design and set decoration of five Stanley Kubrick films: The Killing, Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, Barry Lyndon and The Shining. Go inside Ruth Sobotka’s stark noir environments for The Killing, the Oscar-winning art direction and set decoration of Spartacus, Ken Adam’s legendary Dr. Strangelove War Room, the historic locations and candlelit interiors of Barry Lyndon, and Roy Walker’s unforgettable Overlook Hotel for The Shining. Kim breaks down the impossible architecture of the Overlook, Room 237, the red bathroom, the truth about Barry Lyndonbeing shot by candlelight, Kubrick’s use of negative space and architecture, and how production designers, art directors, set decorators and cinematographers helped create what we now think of as the “Kubrick” look. A production design deep dive into five classic films — and the designers whose work deserves to be part of the conversation.

What did Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Punky Brewster, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Full House, Scooby-Doo, Rainbow Brite and Jem teach us about design before we even knew what production design was? In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning set decorator Kim Wannop goes back to the television worlds that shaped a generation of kids growing up in the late 1970s and 1980s. Why did the Sesame Street neighborhood feel so real? Why does Mister Rogers’ set still feel remarkably calm? Why did Punky Brewster’s bedroom make so many kids want control over their own rooms? And how did the extraordinary visual world of Pee-wee’s Playhouse prove that objects, colors, patterns and furniture don't have to match when they share a strong point of view? Kim also revisits early Nickelodeon favorites including Pinwheel and Today’s Special, the evolving bedrooms of Full House and Clarissa Explains It All, and the animated worlds of Scooby-Doo, Rainbow Brite and Jem and the Holograms. It’s a nostalgic look at 1980s television, production design, set decoration, color and childhood spaces — and at the visual lessons we were absorbing long before we knew how much those environments were influencing us.

I spent both nights of the 2026 Emmys inside the Peacock Theater, and this week I’m taking you with me — from a Decorating Pages point of view. We’re talking about this year’s Production Design Emmy winners, including The Muppet Show, The Traitors, Fallout, Widow’s Bay and Pluribus, and an extraordinary weekend for Production Designer Denise Pizzini, who walked away with Emmys for two completely different shows. But this isn’t just a winners recap. I wanted to talk about what these nights actually feel like when you work in the crafts: sitting in a theater surrounded by editors, costume designers, sound teams, production designers, set decorators and hundreds of other artists whose names usually live in the end credits. I’ll take you inside the Peacock Theater, talk about this year’s Emmy stage, the speeches, seeing past Decorating Pages guests become Emmy winners — and then walk into the Governors Gala with me before anyone else gets there. As one of this year’s Gala Committee Chairs, I got to see the finished “Garden After Dark” design completely empty before more than 2,000 guests came through the doors. And yes, I looked at the whole thing like a giant set. Plus, What Wannop’s Watching: The Odyssey, Reality Bites and Lanterns. This is the Emmys through the eyes of the people who build the worlds on screen.